Traceless enzymatic protein synthesis without ligation sites constraint

Protein synthesis and semisynthesis offer immense promise for life sciences and have impacted pharmaceutical innovation. The absence of a generally applicable method for traceless peptide conjugation with a flexible choice of junction sites remains a bottleneck for accessing many important synthetic targets, however. Here we introduce the PALME (protein activation and ligation with multiple enzymes) platform designed for sequence-unconstrained synthesis and modification of biomacromolecules. The upstream activating modules accept and process easily accessible synthetic peptides and recombinant proteins, avoiding the challenges associated with preparation and manipulation of activated peptide substrates. Cooperatively, the downstream coupling module provides comprehensive solutions for sequential peptide condensation, cyclization and protein N/C-terminal or internal functionalization. The practical utility of this methodology is demonstrated by synthesizing a series of bioactive targets ranging from pharmaceutical ingredients to synthetically challenging proteins. The modular PALME platform exhibits unprecedentedly broad accessibility for traceless protein synthesis and functionalization, and holds enormous potential to extend the scope of protein chemistry and synthetic biology.     

Les premiers diplômés de l'école européenne voient s'ouvrir devant eux les portes des universités de six pays

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An introduction to entrepreneurial separation to transfer technology programs

There is an ever increasing interest in the development of within firm mechanisms to augment the transfer of intellectual property from laboratory environments to commercialization. The Federal Laboratory System is an example of where policy has recently been developed to strengthen their efforts in the technology transfer process. Entrepreneurial separation to transfer technology programs (ESTT) represent one mechanism that laboratories have to assist with the transfer of intellectual property across boundaries, especially in situations where initial efforts at commercialization have failed. However, no formal research exists on the effectiveness of these programs as a boundary spanning device. This work is based on a preliminary study in the ESTT domain placed in the technology transfer body of literature. In depth interviews were conducted with four organizations, along with a review of more than fifty organizational policies in order to develop an initial framework of ESTT programs. We introduce the concept of ESTT programs and discuss how inventor motivations and characteristics of the invention itself might influence the success of ESTT.     

Library abuse in academic institutions: A comparative study

The abuse of library materials defined in terms of theft, mutilation, unauthorized borrowing and vandalism was investigated in University of Port Harcourt (Uniport) in Nigeria and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Saudi Arabia. The study sought to find out the ways the collections of the two institutions were abused by various classes of readers and for various reasons. By interviewing librarians, and analysis of collection use records, it was revealed that students, as well as faculty, staff and external readers indulged in abuse of library materials, motivated by situational, conceptual, attitudinal and other factors. It was observed, however, that Uniport had more problems with the misuse of library materials than KFUPM. Recommendations relating to library building design, tightening of security, generous and flexible loans policies, etc., were made for improved collection protection. Besides, public relations campaign and multilateral co-operation on book theft detection would help to discourage in particular the uninitiated or new converts from any acts of library abuse.     

The Training of Coaching Skills: an implementation study

In this study, the implementation effects of a programme for the training of coaching skills with Dutch school counsellors are described. These school counsellors are expected to provide help and support to primary school teachers. Coaching is a form of in‐class support intended to provide teachers with feedback on their own functioning and thereby stimulate self‐reflection and self‐analysis in order to improve instructional effectiveness. To assist school counsellors in their attempts to coach teachers, a training programme was designed: ‘The school counsellor as coach.’ A quasi‐experimental, treatment‐control group investigation was then set up to test the effects of this programme. Based on the pre‐ and post‐training ratings of coaching conferences, a significant treatment effect was found for the coaching skills concerned with the development of autonomy (empowerment), feedback, and purposefulness. The pre‐ and post‐training ratings from coached teachers showed no significant treatment effects. This was because the teachers were not accustomed to in‐class assistance and thus rated the coaching skills of the school counsellors quite favourably even at pre‐test.     

Creating cooperative classrooms: effects of a two‐year staff development program

In this study, the implementation effects of a staff development program on cooperative learning (CL) for Dutch elementary school teachers were studied. A pre‐test–post‐test non‐equivalent control group design was used to investigate program effects on the instructional behaviours of teachers. Based on observations of teacher behaviour during cooperative lessons, a statistically significant treatment effect was found for the following instructional behaviours: structuring positive interdependence, individual accountability, social skills and evaluation of the group process. Training effects were also found for the combination of CL with the model of direct instruction and the activation of prior knowledge of social skills. Moreover, teachers in the experimental group scored statistically significantly higher than the teachers in the control group on the activation of prior academic knowledge.     

'Horrors of Holland': Explaining Attitude Change Towards Euthanasia and Homosexuals in The Netherlands, 1970 1998

In this article, we investigate changes in public opinion inthe Netherlands toward two controversial issues: homosexualsand euthanasia. We find that a rapid decrease in oppositionto both issues in the seventies and early eighties was followedby a period of a stable minority opposition. We identify relevantperiod and cohort indicators to test which characteristics areassociated with the changes in the attitudes. We collected periodand cohort characteristics that are applicable to both of theattitudes, but specific attitude-related circumstantial conditionsas well. For both attitudes, it turns out that the changingcomposition of Dutch society with regard to religiousness accountsfor the largest changes in public opinion. Furthermore, we findthat the influence of religion on both the attitude towardseuthanasia and the attitude towards homosexuals became strongerover time, whereas the influence of educational attainment weakenedover time. Received for publication April 13, 2006. Accepted for publication April 23, 2007.     

Assessment criteria for competency-based education: a study in nursing education

This study examined the effects of type of assessment criteria (performance-based vs. competency-based), the relevance of assessment criteria (relevant criteria vs. all criteria), and their interaction on secondary vocational education students’ performance and assessment skills. Students on three programmes in the domain of nursing and care (N = 93) participated in the study. Results show that students who were given the relevant criteria made more accurate assessments of an expert model, performed better on a test and achieved higher instructional efficiency (defined as the relationship between performance and mental effort) compared to students who were given all criteria. Students who were given performance-based assessment criteria made more accurate assessments of an expert model and scored higher on task performance during practice compared to students who were given competency-based assessment criteria. They invested less mental effort in the assessments, resulting in higher instructional efficiency. An interaction effect for the concreteness of answers shows that the combination of performance-based and relevant criteria leads to superior analysis of worked examples compared to the other combinations of criteria.